2 Detectives of the East?
by mistress-of-kurapika-sama
Summary: Who is this new guy in Teitan High? He acts & thinks like Shinichi.  Is he an alter ego?  Join our favorite detective as he proves Japan he's the number one detective & proves Ran that she's his only one.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Meet the masked detective

* * *

There was something in the news that made Shinichi fall out of his chair that Monday morning. Another crime has been solved by this 2nd best detective of the East before the case has reached Shinichi Kudo's hands. He was having his usual breakfast when the news broke him again into pieces. How many times have that detective ruined his morning or evening? He was the reason Shinichi could barely get a case. Somehow, he had realized how Kogoro Mouri was feeling whenever, he, Shinichi, would solve a case.

"Man, whoever that detective is, I want to meet him! He's somehow getting on my nerve. I want to see how he cracks every case." Shinichi said. He raised his hand so high while he gazed at the sun.

"Ha! Do you really mean that? You might regret it, Mr. Sherlock Holmes. No one had ever really met him except the police. He's very mysterious if you ask me. He wears a mask every time he would solve a case." Ran chuckled. She and Shinichi were on their way to Teitan High.

"Well, once I met him face to face, I would want to see his face and probably challenge him to solve one case after the other." Shinichi sniggered. "That would be awesome."

"One detective is enough for me. No one is better than you." Ran mumbled.

"What is that, Ran? Did you say something?"

Ran shook her head. The pair of them has reached their classroom on time. Ran could hear several of her classmates mentioning a new comer or something like a transfer student.

"Shinichi? Did you hear what everyone's talking about?" Ran whispered.

"Yeah, I heard every word alright. They'll be introduced to us any moment now." Shinichi yawned.

"They?"

"Okay class, we have 3 transfers students. They declined to be assigned in different class so here they are. I just hope we have some extra seats left. Well, anyway, please do introduce yourselves." The teacher said. He went to the back side of the room to make space for the transfer students. Two, tall, young men first came in followed by a bespectacled young man. One of the two tall young men stepped ahead to introduce himself. He had short, curly, brown hair and fair color of skin. He gazed his blue eyes at everyone in the class and spoke softly, "The name's Kanzaki Sayuri. Please to meet you everyone."

"Sayuri?"

"Isn't that a name of a girl?"

"His voice doesn't sound manlier."

Shinichi glanced at Sayuri with no interest. He played his pen on his fingers and gazed at the blue sky with a bored look. Ran looked from Sayuri to Shinichi. There was something in his stare she cannot comprehend. Sayuri paid no attention to the other boys; his eyes fell upon Shinichi. He stepped backward to let his other companion introduce himself. The other tall, young man stepped forward. He had black hair, dark complexion of skin and a pair of light blue eyes. He had an amiable attitude as he spoke and this time, it was manly, "Hi there everyone, my name's Akira Mamoru. Nice to meet you all."

"Yes, yes, and you haven't mentioned why you're here."

"Hear, hear."

"How rude of this class." The other one spoke from the three. Sayuri nudged the third young bespectacled man.

"Er – well, Minoru should introduce himself first. I am aware that you are interested why we have transferred at your school." Mamoru said with a tone of embarrassment. "It's a long story…but,"

Minoru cut him short. "It is really none of your business why we're here."

"Sorry, he's new at this." Mamoru apologized.

"He's Kanzaki Minoru by the way, my younger brother." Sayuri interfered and shook Minoru's head. He pouted as he glanced at his older sister and moved away. He also had the same hair and eyes as Sayuri. He was two inches shorter than his brother. But Shinichi thought he seemed matured than his other two companions.

"Ehem, anyway," Mamoru said, "We're here because we've been searching for their parents."

"Oh really?"

"Well, we got some detective who could help you out."

"_Some _detective huh?"

Ran caught a glimpse of Shinichi, who had finally turned his head around to look back at the class. He does not seem _that _interested but he was eager to help whenever he can. Shinichi was about to raise a question when their teacher suddenly cut off. "Okay class, we should start the subject right now as we are supposed to. The three of you could seat behind Kudo, Mouri and Higurashi. By the way, can anyone volunteer to tour these transferees around the campus?"

Someone else volunteered to tour the transferees. Whoever it was, Shinichi did not even bother. He had a lot on his mind especially with the masked detective around. Although the masked detective was the second, Shinichi could not help but think. He was not worried about being replaced by an unknown detective as Japan's number one detective. But why does he even care? He is not as great as he is. No, that was stupid. Shinichi shook his thoughts off and realized that Ran's face was so close to his. He had fallen of his chair with embarrassment.

"Ran! Could you stop doing that?"

"Doing what? I'm just making sure you are still here, Shinichi. You've been staring at the space like a complete idiot." Ran crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you thinking exactly? Another case?"

"No," Shinichi said shortly.

"Don't tell me that masked detective again?"

Shinichi stood up from the ground and peered at Ran's face with interest. "Why are you so bothered? There's nothing wrong with that, right?"

"Hmph," Ran turned her back and saw the three transferees waiting for them by the door. It seemed they would like to have a word with Shinichi. It made Ran's mood worst but she decided to stay with Shinichi.

"Can we talk privately, Kudo?" Mamoru asked. Ran veered her stare from the transferees to Shinichi. She had the feeling that this was going to be another case. She had stayed with Shinichi or her father in every case once in a while, so there is no reason not for her to stay with him anymore. Shinichi did not meet her eyes; instead he walked past her and grabbed her right hand.

"Let's go then," Shinichi muttered.

"I presume that's a yes?" Minoru asked irritably. Mamoru shrugged. Sayuri pinced Minoru's cheeks and followed Shinichi. "What?"

"Next time, don't act too cute. It's irritating." Mamoru grinned.

The five of them went to a nearby café. Shinichi reserved a private room for them. The transferees insist that they share for the payment. The clerk handed over the key to Shinichi and told them where the room was. It was by the end corner of a small hall. The room was small but comfortable. Red curtains were used to conceal the wide glass windows. A small, golden chandelier was hanging by the ceiling. Three, small, satin sofas were around the red, oblong table. Coffee and sweets were served to them later on.

"So, what happened to your parents, Kanzaki siblings? And why are you, Akira-san involved with this?" Shinichi finally asked.

"I believe you know the answer to the latter, Kudo-kun." Mamoru smirked. He took Sayuri's hand and kissed it. Ran felt her jaw drop and Shinichi had to use his right hand to push it back gently. "Just like you and your relationship with this girl…"

_So, she __**is **__a girl after all! _Ran thought but suddenly felt her face heat up. She took a cup of coffee and drank it too quickly until her tongue almost felt nothing. Shinichi realized his face grew warm and he could not hide his embarrassment. "As I was asking you three,"

"Yes," Sayuri took her hand back and winked at the detective. "We'll go to that, Shinichi. My mother's name is Saori and my father's name is Mitsuhiko. Here's what we believe happened."

_It was Friday night and our parents were about to leave on vacation to celebrate their anniversary. They said they have to meet someone else who has arranged their whole vacation. It seemed that everything was set. We did not mind the whole thing though; we wanted our house for ourselves – not that we do not want our parents around – it's just that we felt free if we were going to be left alone by a week. At first, everything went smoothly. They would call once a day to check up on us and for us to make sure they were doing just fine. Their flight was scheduled for Friday, 5:22 in the afternoon but they did not come. We waited for them at the airport; the plane did arrive at the expected time but our parents were not there. We asked for the list of persons who rode the same flight but no one granted our request because we're like kids who would look like to make a scene or what. Security lead us right outside. We did not know what to do anymore; hence, we still went to the police station and reported what happened. They did not take our reports seriously; they even informed us that our parents are listed to those who arrived at the flight that we were expecting. And they will confirm that our parents were missing once it reached 24 hours._

_Minoru and I decided to put things into our own hands. "What? How's that possible? They have been staying there for almost a week and you're telling me you found no record of them? Preposterous!" Sayuri slammed the phone down. "I'm trying something else."_

"_Yuri, don't get too upset." Minoru said. "They probably just forgot to call us before they landed and went somewhere else."_

"_Minoru, aren't you worried at all?" Sayuri exclaimed._

"_Well, I am worried about them. But they can take care of themselves." Minoru shrugged. "Besides, you know __**them**__; they usually do that when they go to work."_

"_No text either." Sayuri was about to punch the phonebook when Minoru took it. Her fists slammed against the table and it was divided into half. Her brother took the phone and watched the table fell into pieces._

"_You have to be reminded not to tear our furniture into pieces. You're grounded." Minoru said frustratingly. He transferred the phone and the phonebook at the sofa. He pushed his spectacles as he gazed at his idiotic sister. "Now, what should we do?"_

"_You can't ground me, idiot!" Sayuri poked Minoru. "I'm older than you!"_

"_Yeah, but sometimes I act more mature than you." Minoru disputed._

"_A – well – I guess you got a point." Sayuri said. "Anyway, we should try calling their contact person who set that vacation."_

_We ended up with the same result. No response from the contact person. We could not inform our other relatives about it because we have no contact with them for a very, very long time. We decided to find them ourselves._

"Wait," Shinichi cut off. "Something's not right."

Ran could not think weird on Sayuri's story. But Shinichi could see right through every tiny detail.

"What?" Minoru asked. "Do you think we're lying then?"

"Minoru – No," Sayuri said.

"No," Shinichi said shortly. "I just thought you were dumb enough not to ask any help from the police after they went missing within 24 hours."

Minoru and Sayuri exchanged fretful looks. Shinichi could tell that they have not told him _everything. _

"Well, Kudo, we believe that our parents are hiding something from us, especially what their real work is." Minoru finally said. Only the instrumental music being played on the background filled the silence among the coffee room. Ran finally finished drinking her coffee and placed the empty cup down next to the sweets. Mamoru veered his stare from Shinichi to the siblings. Shinichi's bangs lowered down as he smirked. He was about to say something when his mobile phone rang; it was Inspector Megure.

_Why would Inspector Megure finally call Shinichi? Was it because the masked detective was not around to solve another case? Or was it the case he was just about to solve? Have they found the Kanzaki couple? _


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Another case

* * *

"Okay, I'll be there right away." Shinichi ended the call. He veered his glance from Sayuri to Ran. "I need to go. There's some case I need to solve. I'll deal with you later. Or if you need another detective, find the masked one. I'm sure he can help you."

"Shinichi!"

"What? Ha, ha, that is, if you find him. See you then!"

"That's it? How insulting." Minoru mumbled.

"Minoru!" Sayuri exclaimed.

"Let's find somebody else. He's useless." Minoru complained. Ran overheard their conversation. And decided to linger. She did not want them to think that Shinichi would only solve big, crime scenes.

"Please don't think of him that way. He's just too busy." Ran said.

"Inspector Megure!"

"Oh, Kudo-kun, you finally came! Come here, there's bad news." Inspector Megure lowered his voice. Shinichi looked puzzled. Megure and his team were inside an inn. Obviously, the crime was set in it and every suspect, including close friends and relative were held in. Makoto, the lady lying cold on the ground was the victim. Megure was assuming it was a suicide but the masked detective said otherwise.

"What?" Shinichi asked. Megure could only point at the popular masked detective standing next to the crime scene. He was not that tall enough and he had short, untidy black hair. He had black eye mask and black leathered trench coat and boots. Shinichi noticed that a part of his coat was unbuttoned. The masked detective seemed to be heaving like he just arrived there. He was already making a theory from the way he moved his lips.

"I'll take care of this." Shinichi said.

"Kudo-kun, try to get along."

Shinichi could only shrug. He walked towards the masked detective and held out his hand in introduction of himself. The masked detective could only stare at him with his small, emerald eyes. It was as beautiful as the stone. He did not speak nor move, instead he went back at gazing at the body of the victim. Shinichi felt offended but ignored the masked detective. He observed the cold body of Makoto. Then, he started roaming around the inn, to search for more clues. Megure already informed the alibi of each suspect. There were 2 friends and one sister of Makoto, only one of them was the real suspect. As soon as Shinichi was done with his theory, he told Inspector Megure to call everyone up. But it was too late, everyone has gathered around the masked detective. He did not speak much, he just drew the details while there were written characters beside each drawing. He would only speak if something needed to be explained.

"Tch..." Shinichi mumbled as he jostled in the crowd to listen to the masked detective's theory. He just ate what he told Ran about meeting the detective. After minutes of question and answers, the masked detective pointed at the person responsible of Makoto's death. He asked for the sister, Mizuki to empty her pockets. Everyone knew that Makoto was alone when the incident happen, so Mizuki defended herself more.

"I can't take it anymore!" Shinichi exclaimed. Everyone glanced at his direction with an annoyed look on their faces. "What? Just get it over already. Or I will solve this case on my own. Mizuki-san, empty your pockets already and stop disputing. Let's see if the masked detective is right."

Mizuki grinned at the two detectives and emptied her pockets. Nothing was in her pocket. She showed her empty palm on everyone else. The rest of the suspects gazed at the masked detective and at Shinichi. The masked detective's eyes narrowed at Mizuki. Shinichi was smirking. "Fu, Fu, Fu. You may have emptied your pockets before we could check the proof, but sad to say that I found this." He showed a piece of foil with blood he had found once he went in their rooms awhile ago. It was in Mizuki's baggage. He pointed at Mizuki's hands who had a small cut from the foil. "We could test who's blood is in this foil, then we could figure out who placed a poison in her drink before it was served to her. Of course, you knew you wouldn't be suspected at all since the waitresses were serving all your meal. You got the chance to do it when you reminded her to take her daily medicine. And..."

"Stop it!" Mizuki furiously said. Her fists were trembling badly. Tears were flowing down from her eyes. "I had to do it. I had it with her! She's so annoying, getting all the attention I want from my parents, family members and loved one. She's became everyone's favorite!"

The masked detective walked out of the scene, furious of how Shinichi handled the case alone. Shincihi laughed in victory. Then, his phone rang. It was an unknown number; he had to pick it up. The voice sounded hoarse and choppy. "You played with the wrong person, detective Kudo. You will get what you deserve." Shinichi's eyes widened in surprise. He gritted his teeth before he responded. "Who is this? WHO IS THIS?" The line was cut off.

Inspector Megure overheard Shinichi and came up to him. "We could trace the number Kudo-kun."

"No, it's alright. Probably, a prank call."

"What a coincidence to call the right person he's speaking to." Megure pointed out.

Shinichi came back to the cafe near their school and found Ran, Minoru and Mamoru chatting lightly. Sayuri was nowhere insight. "Where's your sister?"

"Oh Shinichi! Finally you came! Sayuri left everything for this two to explain to you. She had to work part time or else they won't have anything to eat." Ran explained.

"Then we could visit her and chat to where she's working."

"How stupid of you to suggest that." Minoru smirked. "She's working you know. Anyway, about what we were talking about earlier..."

"I want to hear it from her. But I think you will do." Shinichi said. "Go ahead with your parents work. What are they exactly? I mean, what are they doing for a living?"

"They're... what do you call it... work like bounty hunters... Catch wanted persons with great deal of rewards." Minoru lowered his voice. "They never mentioned anything to us but Sayuri and I found it out when we were rummaging their paperworks. We found these papers with pictures and rewards of certain criminals." Minoru took something out of his backpack; it was old, folded papers with wanted people on it. The rewards were huge. He looked at Shinichi with sad eyes. "Well, we believe that everything that has been happening right now is related to their work. Someone may have wanted revenge on them or whatsoever. We still lack clues that would lead to that."

"Oh, that makes this case interesting." Shinichi grinned. "What else do I need to know? Tell me."

"Ah, Shinichi, it's already late. Can't we continue this tomorrow?" Ran interfered.

"Oh, okay. I'll walk you home first then I'll come back at you guys. Is that alright?" Shinichi said.

*"N – No, I can go home by myself." Ran said. "I still have to go shopping for dinner."

"Okay then. Just take care, okay?"

"'Kay. See you tomorrow!"

"Mmm..." Shinichi nodded. He went back at Minoru and asked for more information. It was past nine when he suddenly remembered that Professor Agasa was about to leave for a free science workshop. He promised to escort him at the airport. He bid the men goodbye and promised to search for the Kanzaki's parents the next day. As he scurried off towards his home, something fell out of his pocket. It was his wallet and Ran's photo scattered alongside his money. He stopped on his footsteps and gazed at the ground. He just remembered that he did not checked on Ran before she left them. He promised himself to call her as soon as he got home.

_What awaits the great detective? What was the prank call about? What actually happened to Ran on her way home? Several incidents have made the detective retrace the clues and his own footsteps before he moves forward._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Hidden thoughts & feelings

* * *

A lot of things had happened ever since the masked detective had interfered Kudo Shinichi from his detective works. Although some detectives are an exemption – that would include Kogoro Mouri – Shinichi did not see the others as obstacles but as competence. He recalled the weird voice who threatened his life. It was indeed not just a prank call; after he had insulted the masked detective the call came. It does not seem like a coincidence, is it? He picked up the phone and called the Mouri residence. It took five rings before someone had picked it up. The voice was breathed heavily as it spoke, "M – Mouri r - residence, Ran speaking…"

"Are you alright?"

"Ac – tually, I just got home." Ran panted. Shinichi could hear her throwing stuff on the ground.

"What is that?"

"I – um – bought groceries remember?"

"Oh yeah. What took you so long? Look at the time." Shinichi said.

"I – uh – **keep it down, will you**? Oh sorry, it's my dad. He got drunk again." Ran apologized. "Anyway, I still have to cook dinner. I got late since some thugs try to mess with me, but I'm alright now."

"Oh, did they?" Shinichi sweat dropped. "So nothing else happened? I mean did they follow you home or something? They might get revenge on you, you know."

"As if they had the courage," Ran's eyes burned up. "Let's see what they've got."

"Ha, ha, I get it, I get it. Okay, I should get some rest now. I'm too tired to eat anything. Can I stop over – ?"

"No! The house a mess! I had a rough day, so please." Ran almost whispered.

"I – I see."

The phone clicked and Ran kicked an unconscious body lying beside the couch. Her voice suddenly changed as she removed a device on her neck. "Hey, get up, you…"

"Ouff!" was all the voice could say. Its eyes glared at Ran. Its lips, hands and ankles were all tied up, making the person unable to speak. The other one was fast asleep; snoring in the midst of what was happening within his home.

"Don't you scream or your father gets it." Another voice spoke from behind the real Ran Mouri. Ran's eyes widened and tears were flowing down from her eyes. She bit her lips and nodded in response. The person behind the real Ran slowly removed the handkerchief from her lips.

"Careful now…"

"What do you want?" Ran sniffed.

"Just listen now." The fake Ran smirked amidst the dark Mouri residence. "And no one gets hurt. Don't you know it's hard to pretend? So cooperate, if you want everyone dear to you to live."

Ran could only stare at the ground with tears on her eyes. _Shinichi, tell me what to do._

"Ohayou!"

"What's got into him? He seemed so lively today."

"I don't know."

"Ohayou, Ran!" Shinichi greeted lively.

"What? Oh, Ohayou, Shinichi…" Ran muttered. "You're pretty lively today. Anything unusual happened?"

"N – No, Ran, what's happened to you? You look like a zombie!" Shinichi noticed Ran's large eye bags.

"I – I'm fine." Ran tried to cheer up. "So, why are you feeling so lively?"

"Don't mind me. Really, what's up with you? Is there a problem?"

"Oh, I, I couldn't sleep well because of my dad." Ran forced a smile and to make Shinichi convinced she added. "And I had a terrible nightmare. Yes, a nightmare wherein everyone I care about were murdered because of me."

"Looks like you got caught up with my detective works." Shinichi chuckled.

"Yeah, I think so."

Shinichi did not bother to ask her more about the nightmare. Instead, he babbled on about the new idea in his head on how to help the Kanzaki siblings to find their lost parents. Ran let Shinichi's voice drain in her thoughts. She could not utter a word to him. She could feel that she was being watched. A chill on her nape made her believe that someone was keeping an eye on her. And if ever she would get alone with Shinichi, probably, whoever was watching her would believe that she had told Shinichi the slightest thing that was happening to her and her father.

"Ohayou!" voices greeted from behind which made Ran jump. Her heart almost left her chest in astonishment.

"Ohayou, Minoru, Mamoru and Sayuri…" Ran mumbled.

"Eh? What's with the long face, Mouri-san?"

"Had a terrible nightmare…" Shinichi explained shortly. "I was just talking about my ideas to Ran awhile ago on how to find your parents…"

"Oh really? That's amazing! Let's talk about it!" Sayuri praised.

"Nah, it's nothing…"

"So, how does it go?"

"Probably, later, during the break…"

Their voices trailed away as Ran followed the rest of her friends behind. The bell rang loudly in her ears; everyone around her ran towards their own classrooms but she could only walk. It was difficult to pretend to be fine in front of all of those people. However, if she does not do what she was told, then everyone else would turn into nothingness.

"I'm dying to go home!" Minoru stretched his arms out wide. "School time's boring…"

Ran shivered in reaction to his statement. She, on the other hand, wanted to stay at school as long as she could. She could not feel comfort in her own home. Yet, she could not even hand a clue to her beloved detective. It was break time and the rest of them were hanging out at the top of the school building. Shinichi and the others formed a circle while Ran sat beside the fence, looking at the people near the gym.

"So, how are you going to help us find our parents? Is there any other way?" Sayuri finally asked.

"I've thought of looking at the police records…" Shinichi blinked. "Besides that, we would visit the headquarters where your parents used to get their jobs."

"Ah, great idea!" Sayuri exclaimed. "Do you know where it is exactly?"

"Yes, I've traced where it is. We'll go there or I'll go there on the weekend."

"I'd like to come!" Ran exclaimed. Shinichi gazed at her with confusion. It was unlikely for Ran to volunteer to come to his investigation. She usually tagged along him with no comment at all except that she wanted to be beside him. Shinichi slowly grinned at Ran's sudden change of mood and waited for the rest to respond.

"Shall we all go then?"

"Don't you think we're a bother to you?"

"Yeah, we could be a burden…"

"Well, as long as you listen if I told you to stay where you are then it's fine with me. You will all be a burden if you don't listen to me at all." Shinichi slurped the rest of his drink up and stood up. "That's final. We'll talk about meeting up during dismissal time. For now, we have to think of disguising you up."

"Why?"

Shinichi did not respond and left the rest of them in wonder. Ran followed behind. She wanted to grasp his hands now that they were all alone. But students were wandering on the corridor and she had no idea how to tell Shinichi everything in just a seconds. She knew she was being watched. A single mistake could lead to something she might regret for the rest of her life.

_Sorry for the late update readers! Been really busy these days! So here it is!_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Letting go

* * *

The time passed quickly that Ran Mouri did not notice that she was spacing out during the entire class. Shinichi felt something was definitely wrong; **she **was the only case he could not solve even if he read her mind. He was always missing the most important part: her emotion. Ran was good at pretending that she was always fine and strong; however, deep inside she would cry until her tears would drown her loneliness.

"Okay, Ran, what's wrong?" Shinichi finally said after the class had left. Shinichi and Ran were the only ones left in the classroom. Ran remained at her seat, unmoved. Shinichi placed both of his hands on her desk and took a closer look at her serious face. Bit by bit, their faces were millimeters from each other. Shinichi had no choice but to do it; her immobility was unusual. He swallowed his saliva as he could smell her heavy breathing. He slowly closed his eyes and pressed his warm lips against hers. Then, he felt her arms slowly reaching for his nape, which made him, grew close to her. He pushed the desk away from them and grew closer to her. Ran slowly stood up and embraced him tightly. Shinichi placed his arms around her slender waist. It felt warm and good. He had never felt this for a very long time. He had missed Ran. However, there was something in her kiss that made him worried. He opened his eyes to see that there were tears in her eyes. "Ran?"

"I…" Ran could not say it; it did not feel right. "I have something to s – say."

"Yes, go on." Shinichi let loose of his touch around her waist. He fixed her hair that was covering her eyes. He gazed at Ran's lonely eyes and waited.

"I – It's not working out." Ran finally said. "Us."

"What do you mean?"

"I – It's o - _ver_."

"Explain please? What made you think so?"

"You don't spend much time with me as much as your cases. I know how much they mean to you and to everyone else, including me. But I want some time alone with _you _and not with the cases." Ran sighed. "This is goodbye." Ran kissed Shinichi by the cheek and left the room as soon as possible. Shinichi stood by her desk, astonished to what just happened in front of him.

*ran dropped a letter as she kissed him

"R – Ran! Wait!" Shinichi followed her behind. It took a second before he realized what happened. He could not move; his knees seemed so weak to move at the moment. His world was spinning around him. The image of Ran leaving kept repeating in his mind until he had not realized that it was already 6 in the evening. He still had not moved from his position.

"There you are! We've been looking all over for you! Where's Mouri?" Mamoru asked.

"Never mind that. Are we going tomorrow? Sayuri wanted to ask." Minoru said irritably. "Oi, Kudo. What happened to you?"

"Ah… Tomorrow?"

"Yes, you told us that we could come. We're going to our parents' headquarters, right?"

"Oh, yes. Are your disguises finally ready? We shall hold a meeting after Sayuri's working hours. Is that alright? I have other things I needed to take care of." Shinichi said absent mindedly. He picked up his bag and left the two behind.

"What's with him?"

"It has something to do with Mouri, I believe." Mamoru whispered.

"Wow! Is this really the place? It's near a forest." Sayuri turned around to face the rest of the team. She held her hat when the wind blew. She was wearing a sleeveless, red halter and light blue khaki pants. Her curves made her look like a woman for awhile. Shinichi and the gang were at a forest, a few blocks away from the train station. Mamoru and Minoru peered at the map Shinichi was holding at the moment. "Yes, it seems so." Shinichi folded the map as Minoru grunted.

"It's unlikely for a place like this to hold a headquarters." Ran muttered.

"Exactly," Shinichi beamed but he felt silent all of the sudden. Ran smiled a bit. She had her hair tied into a pony. She had a turtle neck pink top and black skirt. She only came for him since she had volunteered yesterday during their meeting. Shinichi and Ran had been exchanging embarrassing glances every now and then. But they tried to keep it just between them. "Let's go then."

"We're really going in _there_?" Minoru asked in astonishment. The forest looked amiable on the outside but looked eerie on the inside.

"Well, if you're undecided, then you could wait by the train station. I will go alone."

"No!" the two young women exclaimed. Ran and Sayuri giggled.

"I would like to see where my parents were working!"

"And I don't want to let _you_ go alone in there, Shinichi!" Ran exclaimed. She held her lips in astonishment. She had revealed what she really felt. It was not supposed to expose. Shinichi remained speechless. He just waited for the two young men to react.

"Oh, alright! We're going as well!" Minoru said. Mamoru pushed him aside and apologized to Shinichi for his rudeness. Shinichi just shook his head in disbelief. He did not know what he would do if something else happens to the rest of them. The high stairs seemed to be leading them to a temple, but Shinichi doubt that the headquarters would be that obvious. Hours later, Shinichi and the gang felt like they were going deep into the forest; everything was getting darker and darker. Shinichi felt Ran walking close to him. Sayuri and Mamoru were behind them; it was only Minoru who chose to linger. Then, Shinichi saw something glistening at the corner of his left eye. He stopped to see where the brightness was coming from. The rest was about to follow him when Sayuri gasped. Everyone turned around to find Mamoru lying on the ground and unconscious.

"Minoru!"

"He probably collapsed from the heat? But there's not much heat in here anymore." Mamoru followed Sayuri behind. Ran glanced back at Shinichi to find him heading to where he had seen the brightness. Ran stood in the middle of the stairs so that she could remember where Shinichi exactly went to. Slowly, Shinichi disappeared like the shadows. Then, Ran glanced back at the three only to find one of them missing. "Where's Sayuri?" Ran yelled at Mamoru.

Mamoru pointed at his right and Sayuri had a fretful look on her face. Her whole body was trembling in fear. Ran could not figure out what was happening; she had to leave where she was supposed to stand. She left her shoes as her mark and went towards Sayuri. "What happened, Sayu – ri?" It was only then that they realized that a dead body was lying near the staircase.

"SHIN – " Ran's voice was cut off. Something just hit her at her nape.

"Mouri!" Sayuri caught Ran just in time. Somewhere around the forest must know their arrival. "Mamoru be careful! Lower your head down! Mouri! Mouri! Mamoru, leave my brother and call Kudo from where Mouri's shoes are."

"KUDO! KUDO!"

Shinichi turned around in annoyance. He was so close in getting to the so-called headquarters. He looked once again at the surface before he turned his back. He scampered to where the voice was coming from.

_OUFF! _Shinichi bumped into Mamoru. He scratched his head and gazed at him in bewilderment. "What's going on with you guys? Is something the matter?"

"Minoru… Mouri…" was all Mamoru could say as he panted. He pointed at the direction at where they were. He and Shinichi moved swiftly amongst the forest grounds. When they reached the staircase, only Sayuri and Minoru were in the picture. Ran was nowhere to be found. Sayuri was also unconscious on the ground; it seemed she had struggled to give Ran to whoever had taken her.

"S – Sayuri!" Mamoru scampered to his beloved.

"W – Where's Ran? Ran? RAN?" Shinichi bellowed. Nothing moved amongst the bushes and trees. There was no sign of Ran's presence, only the cold body lying near the staircase was the only clue that was left to them.


End file.
